How is the Italian gorgonzola made?

• The Gorgonzola industry is worth more than $ 800 million.
• Nearly 5 million wheels are produced each year.
• Production is limited to the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy and there are only 29 dairies in the world certified to produce this cheese.
• We visited Caseificio Si Invernizzi in Trecate, Piedmont, Italy, to see how the cheese is made.

The Gorgonzola industry is worth more than $ 800 million. Nearly 5 million wheels are produced each year. Production is limited to the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. Only 29 dairies in the world are certified to produce this cheese.

Gorgonzola cheese has a centuries-old history and still uses the same ingredients and techniques as it was decades ago.

Its beautiful marbled interior is given by Penicillium roqueforti, a fungus / mold used to refine the cheese. And that's why, in fact, blue cheese so-called.

We visited Caseificio Si Invernizzi in Trecate, Piemonte, Italy, where 450- 500 Gorgonzola wheels are manufactured daily.

"First of all, Gorgonzola was born in Valsbadina, so she was born in the Alps, said General Manager Marco Invernizzi at INSIDER." It all started with the families of "bergamini", so the shepherds drive cows to pasture and not sheep. My family is among those. So these families of "bergamini" started to turn milk into cheese, blue cheese for us. How? Basically, after making the cheese, it was left to age in natural cellars. Then the cheese was left underground instead. Later, all the producers of Gorgonzola settled in the Po Valley, where the sheds had begun to spread and the market was bigger. "

Gorgonzola cheese is made with unsweetened pasteurized cow's milk. It can be soft and creamy or hard and pungent, depending on how long it ages. The two types are easily distinguished by the color of their veins: blue in the creamy and green in the spicy.

"Gorgonzola, and all blue cheeses in general, are special cheeses because they are neither hard nor soft," said Invernizzi. "They are both." This cheese has a lot of structures, also visually. "Visually, it's a beautiful cheese."

Gorgonzola cheese is protected by the European Union by the "Protected Designation of Origin" scheme. This means that any cheese labeled "Gorgonzola" must meet a particular set of standards and is subject to quality controls. It is also wrapped in an aluminum foil.